Europe orders Elon Musk’s X to submit documents on its recommendation algorithms

The European Commission (EC) says it has requested information from Elon Musk’s X related to the algorithms that determine the content it recommends to users. The EC wants to determine how those algorithms may or may not be compliant with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes key obligations on online platforms operating across the bloc.

With Germany preparing for a federal election in February, the German government had accused Elon Musk of trying to influence the upcoming election in favor of the far-right AfD party. However, as per a report in the Financial Times, the Commission says its latest request is not directly related to this.

The request expands on an existing probe into X’s activities that the EC initiated back in 2023. Now, the EC has requested X to provide “internal documentation” on its recommendation systems, and any recent changes the company has made to them. It has also issued a “retention order” that requires X to keep a record of any future changes through the end of 2025.

Additionally, the EC has requested access to some of X’s commercial APIs and technical interfaces.